


Saving a Wilde Fox

by orphan_account



Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Happy Ending, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, Sweet
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-23
Updated: 2019-08-19
Packaged: 2020-09-07 20:33:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20315611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: They had the evidence, and Bellwether’s confession was recorded. All they needed now was to stall just a little longer for the cops to arrive.Too bad some things work out differently than anticipated.This alternate canon follows Judy Hopps after the museum incident in helping her best friend recover from Bellwether's last act of vengeance. She'll be there through both their ups and downs while putting up with the numerous antics and attachments of a truly Wilde fox.





	Saving a Wilde Fox

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone. So I'd thought I'd finally give writing a go, so please pardon the amateur hour you're about to read. I'd really appreciate any suggestions or alternations of phrases that you would think would make the writing overall better.
> 
> Kind of silly to say, but just in case; Zootopia is not mine. It's Disney's.

“Fear always works! And I'll dart every predator in Zootopia to keep it that way”.

_That should be enough._

Its been three months since the press conference, and so much of Zootopia’s infrastructure has fallen apart. Thanks in part to a certain bunny’s statement regarding the cause of mammals going savage, the city’s prey and predator population have been at odds with each other, resulting in mass protests and civil unrest. And for the last three months, that very same bunny has piled the blame on herself.

As luck would have it however, it was just that guilt that convinced her to return home and unintentionally discover the cause behind the savage mammals. She returned to the city, reunited with Nick, and after a couple of scuffles resulting in a train crash and gashed leg, finally found her way at the bottom of a museum exhibit with Nick thanks to the mastermind behind the plot, Assistant turned Mayor Bellwether.

Much like the luck that’s been trailing right beside the fox and bunny duo however, they arrived to their current predicament with a plan in tow. It’s was a long shot of a plan, but given the urgency of the situation, it was the only one they had; Switch the ammo, put on a show, and get the little lamb to monologue her entire master plan.

And strangely enough…it worked. They had the evidence, and Bellwether’s confession was recorded. All they needed now was to stall just a little longer for the cops to arrive.

“Oh, Nick... No...”

“Bye-bye, bun- “Bellwether said, pausing to take a closer look at Nick. To her, something was off. Their acting was solid, with Nick portraying the vicious predator to a frightening degree, and Judy’s face displaying a true sense of terror.

Nick’s eyes.

Both Nick and Judy froze as Bellwether popped the back of the gun open and saw their deception tumble to the ground.

“Ohhhh…you clever little bunny”. Bellwether chuckled, her grin stretching even further while she smashed the blueberries under her hoof.

“Or was it the fox’s idea?” Bellwether said, waving the gun in Nick’s direction.

Both Nick and Judy slowly backed away from where Bellwether was standing over them, as if they had another way to escape unharmed. While their hustle seemed perfect given the few seconds they had to scheme, it didn’t leave any room for a Plan B.

“Well, no matter…” Bellwether chuckled, pulling a new batch from her pocket and snapping them into the ammunition chamber. “Second times the charm”.

Despite Nick’s best effort to dodge, a blue splotch struck his arm, causing him to fall to the ground convulsing. Pounding his fists into the ground, he tried to maintain focus and ordered his limbs to calm themselves. But slowly his vision grew red, and his claws began to extend against his will.

“Nick!” Judy yelled, with much more dread in her voice. True dread this time. She lunged forward for a split second to aid him but stopped herself short. The nighthowler was already coursing through his system, and there was no way to fight it. Despite her fierce desire to rush to her friend’s side, she knew that there was only one course of action that could save them both.

She had to stay alive.

She hid back behind the tall weeds, giving her some time to quickly scan her surroundings. The walls were too high to leap out off with her best effort, her leg prevented her from outrunning him, and there were no hiding places that could keep a fully savage animal at bay.

“Aww now that’s more like it.” Bellwether laughed, watching as Nick began to growl, his eyes now dilated. “A true _vulpes vulpes_ in his natural habitat”.

Nick stood up on all fours, growling and looking around the pit, trying to zero in on any mammal. He looked upwards at the laughing sheep, then to the remaining fake animals in the exhibit, but even in his lowered state he knew that neither of the targets were worth hunting.

He then however caught a scent that was strangely appealing to him.

He slowly walked towards the grass, scrunching his muzzle with every sniff and bearing his full set of canines, keeping his nose locked on to the scent. With time running out, Judy managed to briefly gather her thoughts and noticed a small boulder to the side just a little away from where Nick was prowling.

_It’ll have to do._

Despite the pain in her leg, she quietly positioned herself the best she could, readying for the mad dash.

_Come on Jude, you can do it. You’ve come too far. Don’t make this all for nothing._

She took in a deep breath as she heard Nick growing closer.

_3…2…1_

She lunged towards the boulder with as much power in her good leg as possible. The sudden burst of grey startling the savage fox, causing him to yelp and leap backwards.

Despite the blood and sharp pain resonating in her injured leg, she lunged upwards as high as she could, tearing her leg even further. She smacked into the large rock, and started immediately to kick upwards against it to propel herself to the very top.

Never in all her life had her heart beaten as fast, and it started to pick up even faster when she heard the rapid patter of four limbs coming at her in a full on sprint. Just one more push would be enough to bring her to the top, high enough to avoid him.

But that hope was dashed as she felt the jaws of a fox grip onto her jeans.

With one quick tug, Judy was whipped around and forced back to the ground with her back to the boulder. She took one last scan around the area for even the slightest glimmer of hope, but could only see a grinning sheep above, and a savage fox in front.

She leaned back against the rock and looked towards the ceiling knowing she was done for. Feeling a presence growing closer and closer, all she could do now was let a few tears run down her eyes, waiting for the inevitable.

_You know what…maybe I deserve this._

Everything from the last three months came rushing back to her. The sight and sounds of the protests, her own words at the press conference with the sounds and flashes of cameras in the background, and the images of future kits and cubs being taught how to be afraid and mistrusting of predators. And most of all, in her mind and in front of her; Nick.

Dragging him along, putting his life in danger numerous times, and then crushing his trust the minute he gained a single ounce of hope and self-respect, she couldn’t believe how reckless she’s been with another life. An innocent life just wanting to be better than what the world said he could be. And now, even after all those grievances, even after he forgave her with nothing to gain this time, she still had been too short sighted to see how she could hurt him. How his life will turn out after this.

Will he be like this forever? Will they kill him later? Will he blame himself what’s about to happen? She couldn’t go without helping him best she could. She looked into his wild eyes, trying her best to ignore the growling.

“Nick…” Judy whispered just loud enough for him to hear. She closed her eyes. “Don’t blame yourself. And…” she took one more breath in, powering through her tears. “Please forgive me”.

Despite knowing what to expect, she dared to look at Nick one last time, expecting emerald daggers and a full set of jaws from her former friend forced savage.

And there he stood in front of her, their faces just as close together as when they had just tried to fool Bellwether. His pupils were indeed savage, but his eyes seemed more…soft. A look that was a mixture of surprise and confusion, trying to make sense of who this mammal was in front of him. As he looked into her violet eyes, his ears slowly rose up while his muzzle relaxed.

Judy tensed up as Nick brought his muzzle close to her, only to be further perplexed when rather than teeth, she felt the hairs on the side of her neck swaying back and forth with Nick’s breathing. She felt his wet nose sniff around her neck, over her jugular, and move upwards into her ear.

Despite her fear, she had to hold back a case of the giggles as Nick spent a little time sniffing around and inside her ears. She knew she was still in danger as far as she could tell, but the fact that he needed more time to analyze her ears due to their size, combined with the how much it tickled, she couldn’t help but find it humorous. Nick lowered his muzzle back down to where both their noses touched, looking into her eyes once again.

“Nick”? Judy whispered.

Without warning, she was greeted by a rough tongue against her cheeks, licking away at the tears.

“Nick?!” She exclaimed, being licked by a fox as excited as a kit on Christmas morning. “Y-you’re slobbering all over me”! Judy managed to say in between giggles. She fell on her side laughing, which was a mistake now that it gave Nick the chance to climb on top of her to lick at her face even more, wagging his tail in delight. She tried looking at Nick, only to be greeted by his tongue, and what she thought was a smile in the corners of his mouth.

As Nick was trying to nuzzle in closer, pushing his muzzle upwards against her cheeks, Judy couldn’t believe what was happening. What was just a few seconds ago the most terrifying moment of her life, suddenly turned into the fight of holding back tears of laughter over this sudden change of affection. She knew in the back of her mind that she was still in danger, still needed to make things right, and that this now opened a new floodgate of questions that would need answering. For the time being however, she decided to set those concerns aside and embrace both Nick and their luck. If the sudden change in behavior of this “savage” fox meant anything, then maybe its just that its not her time yet.

\-----------------------------------------

“What is this?!” Bellwether yelled. “He’s supposed to be tearing her to bits, not acting like a little kit”!

“You sound disappointed”.

Bellwether tensed, knowing that deep voice anywhere. She looked behind to see Chief Bogo approaching with a squad of officers on both sides.

“Chief Bogo!” Bellwether exclaimed, quickly trying to hide the gun behind her back. “Thank goodness you’re here! Judy is…” she looked back behind her to see Judy, now trying to push back against the overly affectionate fox, looking upwards at the sheep. She looked back to Bogo, trying desperately to think of a single excuse to explain what was going on. Though nothing came as she didn’t even know what was going on.

** “I’ll dart every predator in Zootopia to keep it that way”. **

Bellwether felt her stomach drop as she heard those words being played out. She looked once again towards Judy, who with a carrot recorder in one hand and a fox being pushed back by the other, had a giant smirk on her face. Bellwether knew now that there was no way out of this. With her confession recorded and evidence in tack, it was her words against hers. It was over, and she was going down.

But she did not want to let Judy have the last laugh.

With a growl in her throat, Bellwether spun all the way back around towards the duo, stretching her arm out with the gun.

“You disgusting pelt!” she shouted, firing two more shots at Nick. He yelped as both managed to hit the exposed areas of his fur. Even as she felt hooves snap her hands behind her back while yanking the gun away, she couldn’t hold back a smile. The effects of nighthowler over-dosage had never been tested, but Bellwether figured it would ether drive the fox into a true rage or kill him. Either way, she would be happy.

Nick fell on his side against the rock, once again convulsing and tensing up. His heart rate raced faster and faster as his muscles inflamed and cramped all over his body. His initial heavy panting began to mix with high shrieks and crying not common among evolved mammals, but rather a primal animal in pain.

Despite her fear, Judy did not back away this time. She raced to his side and tried to calm him down, firmly gripping his hand. She could fell the heat building up inside of him and counted his heart rate from his veins. No matter how terrified she was, her pulse was nowhere near as rapid and sporadic as the fox withering on his back in front of her.

“Shhhh…it’s okay. It’s okay.” Judy whispered, just loud enough to overshadow the noises coming from Nick. She tilted his head up to look up at her, and he meet her eyes while still huffing and crying in pain with tears in his eyes. “Stay calm Nick. You’ll make it through. I promise”.

She knew of course that there were no guarantees. Nick has been shot three times with a pellet so potent, that it managed to turn a polar bear savage with just one shot. The only reassurance granted to her was the fact that, for some reason beyond her or anyone else’s understanding, Nick turned more into a loving creature than a savage monster. Maybe, just maybe luck will be on their side one more time.

Before she could say any other words of comfort, she felt a sudden pierce on her leg, and a lurking sense of drowsiness. Time seemed to slow down as her vision blurred, falling to her side as her senses slowly fell into darkness.

**Author's Note:**

> And thats the end of my first chapter. Please leave a review if possible, and tell me what you think and what could be improved. I don't know how long it'll be between chapters, but I plan on finishing this.


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